Tuesday, December 26, 2006

A BBC interview with legal philosopher Ronald Dworkin about the possibility of democracy and a program suggesting that another charter, not the Magna Carta, is the true source of civil liberties, are listed as among the top ten audios & videos of the year by History News Network. Here are the descriptions:

Sociologist Laurie Taylor talks to one of the world's most eminent legal and political philosophers, Ronald Dworkin. Professor Dworkin discusses his concerns on the current state of democracy, liberty and human rights. What role does dignity play in politics? What are the core values that all citizens share? Dworkin is author of Is Democracy Possible Here? Principles for a New Political Debate (Princeton University Press). Adding their thoughts to the debate from the London School of Economics and Political Science are Francesca Klug, Professorial Research Fellow, Centre for the Study of Human Rights; and Julian Le Grand, Richard Titmuss Professor of Social Policy.

Former British Conservative politician Michael Portillo presents the final installment in a series revisiting the great moments of history to discover that they often conceal other events of equal but forgotten importance. Nearly 800 years after it was signed, Magna Carta is still venerated as the bedrock of English justice and liberty. Yet in truth its impact was a good deal less far-reaching than is popularly believed. Another document, The Charter of the Forest, signed two years after Magna Carta, was the true charter for the common man. Michael Portillo goes in search of this forgotten manifesto for English rural life.